| Female Firsts... |
First Women Faculty (1911-12), East Tennessee State Normal School
Delle Dulaney Smith, Della Stround, Elma Lillian Rankin, Elizabeth Evans Slocumb, Sadie Lone Brooks, Elizabeth Miller Carr, and Mary Moore Davis
First woman to serve as vice-mayor and mayor of Johnson City
May Ross McDowell '16
First female graduate of ETSU admitted to practice law in the county and state courts of Tennessee/ first female Tennessean to be presented to the United States Supreme Court
Carrie Elizabeth Hunter '17
First Woman to serve as Dean of Students
Ella V. Ross '28
First Female to be Editor-in-Chief of the East Tennessee Bulletin (later the East Tennessean)
Christine Burkleson '29
First Woman to become Department Head
Eliza Evans Slocumb 1917-1926
First ETSU graduate to receive Ph.D. Degree
Virginia Nelle Bellamy
(Bachelor's ETSU '45/ Ph.D. Duke University '52)
Mrs. Donna Perry Netherland (BS '49) received ETSU's first honorary degree, the Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters, at the December 2004 Commencement.
First woman appointed Honorary Consul-General of Japan
Mariko Terasaki Miller '53
First female ETSU graduate to become a CPA
Paula Gail Keen '68
The first women's athletic director at the University of Tennessee
Gloria S. Ray '69
First female graduates of the ROTC program
Darcy Armstein and Sandra Cross '74
First officer employed by the Johnson City Police Department, Chief inspector of the Judicial Security Division for the U.S. Marshals Service
Rebecca Jill Marshall '75, '77, '94
First female ETSU graduate to become a dentist
Dr. Teresa Wexler Garland '76
The first woman to be elected as Student Government Association president, First woman elected as Circuit Court Judge, First Judicial District of Tennessee. Later served as Justice to the Tennessee Supreme Court
Penny J. White '78
The first woman to graduate with a minor in Women's Studies at ETSU
Rebecca Tolley-Stokes '94
1929 - First time women were awarded athletic letters
1974 - First time women athletes were allowed to join the intercollegiate athletic program
1974 - First year women qualified as regular ROTC students, making them eligible for ROTC scholarships as well as regular commissions
The Foremothers of the Women's Studies Program at ETSU
Dr. B.J. Bryson, Dr. Linda Kerley, Ms. Ann Clarke, Dr. Anne LeCroy, Dr. Bettie Cole Dr. Gail Stenstad, Dr. Martha Copp, and Dr. Marie Tedesco
East Tennessee State Teacher's College
The first Diploma Graduates with two-year degrees, from
1912.
Jaunita Badgett
Ora Taylor Bankenship
Katherine Carolyn Gilmer
Jennie Ellen Hatcher
Lucy Louise Hatcher
Lucy Dabney Sitton
Beulah Lee Smith
Ida Margaret Smith
Mabel Gertruee Harrison
The first four-year degrees (Bachelor of Science) were awarded in May, 1926.
Glenna Marie Cloyd
Anna Laura Gresham
Vera Virginia Gresham
Mabel McKenzie Gross
Mary Stuart Henderson
Iva Caroline Hicks
Margineal Alma Lynch
Mary Lynette McLeod
Carolyn Swafford Miller
Vera Elizabeth Ross
Fannie Elliene Ross
Bessie Mae Walker
Mary Elsie White
East Tennessee State College
The first graduate degrees (Master of Arts) were awarded in June, 1951. Of the four graduates, three were women.
Nell Refsnes Payne
Hilde Anne Roesel
Emeline Whisnant
The first Bachelor of Arts degrees were awarded in
1953. Of the four graduates, three were women.
Nelia June Nelson Kallio
Drina Cushman Parkey
Mariko Terasaki Miller
College of Medicine
Dr. Patricia K. Schaefer & Dr. Johnsie C. Grigg completed the Family Medicine residency program in 1980. They were the first female residency graduates.
Dr. Susan A. Stern was the first woman to earn a PhD from ETSU in May 1981, in biomedical sciences.
Three out of twenty-two of the first MD graduates
in May 1982 were women.
Dr. Carolyn G. Newton
Dr. Catherine M. Page
Dr. Judy Bowen-Kowalski
Dr. Leslie J. Cargile, also a member of the first MD entering class, graduated in December 1982.
Dr. Bonnie Aldine Burnette-Vick was the first female “double doc,” earning a PhD in 1991 and a MD in 1997.
Dr. Julie A. Dunn (MD '91) & Dr. Anita D. Cobble (MD '93) were the first females to serve at ETSU as chief resident in Surgery, completing in 1998.
Dr. Anita Smith Everett (MD '85) was the first inspector general of Virginia Mental Health and Mental Retardation Facilities.
C
ollege of Nursing
The first graduates with a degree in Nursing
(Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the
School of Health ) were Caroline Bennett Prince and Barbara Jean
Lewis Kincheloe in June 1955.
All 10 of the first class of Master of Science in
Nursing (December 1992) were female.
Susanne Saylor Bradford
Paula Darlene Cox
Jamie Deresa Moore Hall
Jacqeuline Michele Hinshaw
A. Joanna Sympson Meyer
Carol René Chapman Pippin
Sheila Dianne Russell
Nancy Susan Curtis Shisler
Janice Marie Hill Tillman
Paula Kaye Wright
The first Doctor of Science in Nursing (December 2004) was Dr. Amy L. Reeves.
Public and Allied Health
T he first Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology degrees were granted in August 1962; one of the two, Sandra Jeanne Braly Blanton, was female.
The first woman to earn a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health was Mary Margaret O'Dell Arnold, in August, 1970.
The first Master of Science in Environmental Health degrees were granted in August 1973; one of the 21, Reba Fern Overbey Hilton, was female.
The first three graduates of the Marshall T. Nave Paramedical Center , with Associate of Science in Radiologic Technology degrees, in June 1978, were all female .
Susan Lynn Bearden Gott
Patsy Lynn Jarvis
Donna Lee Moore
Three of the six of the first Master of Public Health degrees were given to females in December 1986.
Donna Kay Garland Robbins
Selene D. Skonie-Hardin
Maggie Burrows Turner
All of the first three to earn the Doctor of Audiology degree in May 2005 were female.
Dr. Sarah Joy Fillon
Dr. Andrea Danielle Rose
Dr. Elizabeth Ann Townsend
Two of the first three to earn the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree in December 2005 were female.
Dr. Amber D. Daniels
Dr. Melissa Dawn Ogle
College of Business
The first female Master of Accountancy was Donna Jo Hall, May 1984.
The first female Master of Business Administration was Rita Sue Farmer Ratliff, August 1968.
The first female Master of City Management was Rosemarie Newsom Capon, August 1977
College of Arts and Sciences
The first Bachelor of Science in Fine Arts was awarded to Teri Traner in August 1967.
The first female to earn a Master of Fine Arts was Sylvia Margolis Smith, August 1973
School of Continuing Studies
The first degrees from this school
(Bachelor of Continuing Studies) were awarded in December
1990. Three of the four were female.
Elise S. Brice Bourne
Linda Marie Crowder Morefield
Brenda A. White Wright
The first female to earn the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies was Vivian Ruth Yonkey in December 1998.
College of Education
The first Master of Arts in teaching degrees were awarded in August 1969. Four of the eleven were female.
Lorraine Jean VanDyke Brown
Joyce Allen Enochs Moore
Kathryn Louise Hayes McKee
Margaret West Miller
The first female to earn a Doctor of Education degree was Dr. Bobby Jean Peak Rice, in June 1974.
The first female to earn a Specialist in Education was Elizabeth Sue Peterson Hoilman, one of the first three to earn the degree in April 1975.
ETSU |
Advancement |
Alumni |
Foundation |
Contacts
Alumni Association · Box 70709 · Johnson City, TN
37614
(423) 439-4218 ·
alumni@etsu.edu